Glass Wings
by abovetheruins
Summary: In a world where Earth has been ravaged by the Irkens, and humans are kept as slaves, Gaz finds herself belonging to the very person who betrayed her. ZAGR. DISCONTINUED.
1. Fallen

**Authors Notes: **As you can see, I've started a brand new story (even though I really shouldn't...) This should be considered a 'future fic', I guess. It might even be considered AU. Take it as you like it.

**Warnings:** Torture, violence, death

**Disclaimer:** Invader Zim is property of Jhonen Vasquez. I own nothing but the plot and the OCs. This goes for the entire fic.

--

Glass Wings

**Chapter One-Fallen**

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_All of my hate cannot be found, I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming, So you can try to tear me down, Beat me to the ground, I will see you screaming-Thoughtless (Korn)_

_Scream._

Twin whips, crafted to resemble human vertebrae, crashed down upon her back. They dug into her spine with unrelenting force, the impact driving her body closer and closer to the ground, almost driving her into the dank floor. The heavy iron shackles wrapped around her wrists, however, kept her from that fate. Instead she hung limply from her restraints, the whips beating a continuous rhythm upon her pale flesh.

_Cry for mercy._

She could feel the blood running in warm rivulets down her back, and she didn't have to look to know that it coated the whips as well. She could smell it everywhere-on the floor, on the walls, on the other 'prisoners' of this place...She couldn't escape it. So much blood had been spilt in this room...

_Bleed._

A sudden crack to her side alerted her to her 'handler's presence. One amber eye slowly traveled up from the floor, gazing through slick violet bangs. What could only be classified as an alien stared back at her with narrowed azure eyes. His green skin was wet with perspiration from his exertions, and a scowl parted his lips, revealing a row of zipper-like teeth. A pair of antennae jutted from his head, the tips curling as his scowl deepened. In his gloved hands he held the whips that had so mercilessly slashed open her skin just moments before, his knuckles clenched around their handles.

Despite what she had just gone through, and despite the stinging pain coursing through her body, the violet-haired girl allowed a smirk to drift across her lips, her eyes alight with smug satisfaction as the alien's anger seemed to grow ten-fold. With a cry of outrage he pulled back the whip in his hand, bringing it across her shoulders in a painful arch.

Her teeth gritted against one another as pain laced itself across her neck and back, a fresh stream of blood oozing out from the newly forming wound. Her efforts proved to be successful, as not a single whimper escaped her mouth. Her eyes remained locked on the alien's, steely amber revealing not a hint of the pain he was inflicting. She watched with grim amusement as he almost screamed out in his frustration, dropping the whips to the floor where they bounced lifelessly.

"Why won't you scream?!" he cried, his hand connecting with her cheek in a brutal slap. Three slash marks marred her pale face as his claws left yet another wound to her growing collection. Over and over he repeated his action, though no amount of pain would bring a cry from her lips.

Golden eyes fixed themselves on the floor, an emotionless expression on the young girl's face. She was completely blank-no emotion showed in her eyes, no flinch or cringe moved her almost immobile body.

_'Hit me all you want,_' she thought inwardly, her hands twitching as she fought not to clench them into fists. '_Slice open my skin, scar my body, kill me if you want to. I'll never give in to you, or the rest of your disgusting race. Never.'_

Numbness overtook her as the alien's assault finally ended. Drenched in sweat and panting from the force of his attack, he glared at her, his blue eyes icy with hatred. From somewhere far off, she could hear the snickers of his comrades, and could practically see their smug expressions as screams bellowed from their own captives.

_'This is all a sick game to them,'_ she thought, disgusted. Her eyes narrowed behind her violet bangs, and she clenched her teeth. They would all pay for this. She would make sure of it.

"What's the matter, Furor?" They taunted, sneers curling their lips. "I don't hear anything from your corner..." Their words trailed off as they laughed, cracking their own whips. Gaz glanced at the humans they held captive, sympathy coloring her orbs for one brief second before she turned away, unable to look any longer. She didn't know who they were, though they looked to be about her age, if not younger. Their cries would haunt her tonight, she knew. They always did.

"It's not my fault if this human won't scream!" Furor cried, spatting out 'human' as though it were a curse. "She's abnormal! This pain does nothing to her! Not even a sound..." He kicked his fallen whips to the side. "You could do no better."

Any retort the other's might have made were cut short as the door to the chamber slid open. All heads turned toward the entryway, curious as to who had intruded upon them. Eyes widened as recognition flashed through them. Antennas wiggled in salute, and the aliens fell to their knees in a bow.

"Greetings, Tallest Red," They droned, eyes lowered to the floor. A wave of Red's hand sent them back to their feet, though their postures remained rigid and alert, ready to serve their master.

Amber eyes rolled. The 'Tallests' were just that-taller than the other members of their race. There were three of them, as far as she knew. Tallest Red was by far the most brutal of them all. She pitied the humans he kept within his household. She had heard enough stories about what went on in there to have some level of fear for the red monarch herself. Of course, she never showed it-she couldn't afford to.

Watching through her bangs, she saw Red come to stand directly in front of her handler, towering over him by a good few feet. She could see Furor struggling to contain his tremors, though he was far from successful.

_'Serves you right, you spineless coward,_' she thought maliciously, inwardly longing for the day when she could instill that same fear into the alien. She would revel in it then, and make him experience everything he had put her through. Him and the rest of those filthy Irkens...

"Anything?" Red questioned, his crimson eyes glancing in her direction, a small light of hope dwelling within them. The light dimmed, however, as Furor shook his head, a wave of fear washing through him as his leader's blood-red eyes turned murderous. He sighed in relief as Red brushed past him, glaring down at the violet-haired girl instead.

"What is wrong with you, human?" he hissed, sneering in disgust as she spat at his feet, a glare his only answer. He roughly unhooked her from her shackles, gripping the collar of her threadbare shirt as he pulled her off the ground. Her feet dangled in the air for a brief moment before she was flung at Furor, who jerked away from her as though he had been burnt.

"Take her to her cage!" Red barked, his eyes narrowed. "Apparently torture is not enough for this human." His lips curled into a malicious grin. "I know just what to do with her. She needs a more... experienced master if she is ever to be broken." He glared at Furor, who shrunk beneath his gaze. "Obviously _you_ are not enough."

Furor gulped, inwardly simmering inside. It wasn't his fault if the human wasn't broken yet! He had tried! He glanced at her, seeing that ever present smirk still fixed upon her face. Yes, there was definitely something wrong with this human. The other's had not been near as difficult to brake. They would fight, if their will was strong enough for it, but it was always only a matter of time before they gave in and accepted their fate. The only other human who had lasted this long had been a strange one as well. Her brother, actually, if he remembered clearly...

Furor shook his head, driving his thoughts away. Now was not the time to daydream. He pulled the girl to her feet, pushing her down the hallway with the handle of his whip. She went with no protest, though he knew that was never a guarantee that passive behavior was in store. She had tried to escape him before, after all.

He wondered what the Tallest had in mind for her. What had Red meant by a 'more experienced master'? Did he mean someone with a higher rank than himself? Maybe even another Tallest?

Furor shrugged. As of today, the girl was no longer his problem.

He shoved her into the prison chambers, steering her past rows and rows of iron cages. Huddled within them were various humans that had been captured, in various conditions. Some were cowering in the farthest corner of their cage, as far from the outside as they could get. Others-the more foolish ones in Furor's opinion-were yelling at the various Irkens that passed them by, cursing and snarling as they pulled at their bars, struggling to escape.

He passed by them all, toward a pair of double doors at the end of the hall. They slid open with a metallic clang, allowing the two of them entrance inside. The room was less than half the size of the prison chambers, with room enough for three cages, and adequate space for a handful of Irkens to come and go as they pleased. Of course, no one came into the room but him and a few others. Occasionally, Tallest Red would enter, but that was a rare occurrence-usually he had someone else handle his affairs for him.

"Welcome home, human," he growled, pushing the girl into one of the iron cages. She stayed where she fell, in a kneeling position on the metal floor, amber eyes glaring with such a murderous intent in them that Furor found himself scrambling to get the door closed and locked. He could see his death in her eyes-she wanted to inflict as much pain on him as he had done to her. He could see it clearly.

He sneered at her, driving the thought away from his mind as he left the chamber. There was nothing she could do-she was only a human, after all. Nothing more than a slave for his race. With any luck, she would be eliminated by whatever master Red assigned her...

Back in her cell, the girl gingerly set her back against the side of her cage. Now that they were gone, she didn't have to hide her pain. She grit her teeth as a spasm rocked her spine, but tried her best to ignore it. She peered into the cage directly beside her own, spotting a familiar dark figure crawling toward her. She smiled, or as far as she could smile, and reached out her hand, feeling a set of fingers interlacing with her own.

"You alright?" she questioned, her voice soft. Fingers squeezed hers gently.

"I'm not the one who just got back from a 'session', Gaz," her brother replied, "I saw your back when that..._thing_ threw you in here." He couldn't bring himself to name the creature. No living thing should be that cruel, that heartless. As far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than monsters.

"I'm fine," Gaz said, her voice firm. She wanted no argument. They went through this every time. "Besides, I'm being 're-assigned' tomorrow." Her brother groaned beside her, cradling his head in his free hand. He wiped away his damp black hair, pushing it our of his eyes.

"Did they say who?" he asked, a note of anxiety in his voice. Gaz sighed-she knew he wouldn't like this.

"Someone more...experienced," she replied, her voice a bland monotone. "Whatever that means."

"You know exactly what that means, Gaz!" Dib shouted. "They'll end up sending you to one of the Tallests! Did you know that! What then? What if Red decides to claim you for himself? You know what would happen."

Gaz rolled her eyes, holding in a sigh. "Red won't claim me," she assured him. "He can barely so much as look at me without wanting to wring my neck. No, he'll stick me with someone he thinks can break me, someone who might have a hold over me-"

"Gaz," Dib warned, his dark eyes narrowing. "Don't even think it."

"You know it's true," she argued, as though the matter was simple. "Red is vindictive enough to do it. I know exactly who he'll stick me with." She disentangled her hand from her brother's, wrapping her arms around her knees. The knuckles turned white as she clenched her hands, willing away the turbulent thoughts that flooded her mind.

"Gaz-"

"He betrayed us, Dib," she whispered, her words carrying such force that she could have screamed them and it wouldn't have made a difference. She glared at the adjacent wall of her cell, envisioning a familiar pair of crimson eyes.

"He betrayed _me_."


	2. Nightmare

--

Glass Wings

**Chapter Two-Nightmare**

**--**

_Welcome to my nightmare, Welcome to my breakdown, I hope I didn't scare you, That's just the way we are, When you come down, We sweat laugh and scream here, 'Cause laugh is just a dream here, You know inside you feel right at home, Welcome to my Nightmare-Welcome to My Nightmare (Alice Cooper)_

Screams rent the air around her, cascaded through her ears like a freight train, blocking out all other sound. Wails belonging to neither male or female, but a disturbing mix of both, thundered in her ears, causing a stinging pain to blossom in her head.

_Please,_ she pleaded, her hands pressed hard against her ears, the muscles quivering as she used all of her strength to try and block out the noise. She felt as though her skull were being slowly torn apart. _Stop this...I can't listen to them anymore..._ Her hands pressed harder, until she was sure her skull would crack, yet it did her no good. The screams penetrated her brain, still filled her with a deep and gnawing ache that she couldn't escape.

It was only made worse when the voices started.

_I can't believe how foolish you were,_ they taunted her, using a voice that tore at the very essence of her heart, which throbbed in agony with each painful beat it took. _It's all your fault, you know. This destruction, this pain, this suffering-this sin._ The voice took on a mocking tone. _It's all your's, Gazzy, and your's alone to bear. _That voice... that _damn_ voice. Why did it have to use _his_ voice? She was utterly helpless against it, and it infuriated her. She shouldn't be cowering from this..._ thing_, just because it used his voice.

"Just... shut up," She whispered between clenched teeth, her eyes screwed shut. "Leave me alone." She heard a dark chuckle from above her, sending an icy shiver down her spine. She pressed her face into the cold ground, struggling not to open her eyes; she knew what image she would see if she did...

_Don't you hear it?_ the voice whispered, filled with sadistic glee. _All of those beautiful screams.. .that exquisite suffering... and it's all because of you, Gazzy._

"Stop calling me that!" she screamed. "Stop using his voice! You're not him, no matter what form you take, no matter what voice you use! This is only a stupid nightmare!"

A laugh echoed from above her, while a ghostly hand trailed down the side of her face, two distinctly clawed fingers slipping beneath her chin and lifting her head. Amber eyes, despite every protest from their master, drifted open, colliding with a pair of familiar crimson eyes, blood red shining in spite of the darkness that engulfed them.

Even though she fought them back, tears rose to her eyes, spilling past her lashes to trail down her pale cheeks. Her fists clenched as those same clawed fingers reached up to wipe them away.

_Keep telling yourself that, Gaz,_ he whispered, his red eyes glowing faintly. _Maybe someday you might actually believe it..._

-

"Gaz? Gaz!"

Gaz awoke to someone frantically shaking her shoulders, her brother's voice ringing in her ears. She pushed his hands away as she sat up, wincing as sharp pain shot down the length of her spine. Wearily, she wiped away the sweat that clung to her forehead, shaking her head to rid herself of the lingering images of her very vivid nightmare.

"Gaz?"

"What is it?" she muttered, glancing at her brother. His hands were wrapped around the bars of his cage, his dark eyes concerned.

"Nightmare?" he questioned. He knew about her nightmares, how they haunted her every night. He had heard her, on countless occasions, crying out in her sleep. The night, when she was asleep, was the only time in which his sister ever truly let her vulnerability show. He didn't know what happened in her nightmares-she never told him, so he never asked-but he knew that they hurt her, each and every night.

Gaz silently nodded, too drained to do much else. She leaned her back against the bars to her cage, sighing. "What else is new?" she muttered, glancing towards the doorway. It was still dark in the room, but, if she strained her eyes enough, she could make out its outline. "What happens," she wondered, her gaze stony, "if I don't come back today?"

Alarmed, Dib's hands tightened on the bars, his eyes wide. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice taking on a frantic quality.

Gaz sighed. "You know as well as I do that if Red gives me to a Tallest, or keeps me for himself, I won't ever be coming back here." She cut off his feeble protests with a wave of her hand. "You know it's true, Dib. Slaves to the Tallest are kept with them-they don't stay here, like we do now." She watched as his face fell, feeling a brief stab of regret that she had said anything at all. But, she was nothing if not brutally honest, and it was far past the time that they accepted the reality of what their lives had become. They were nothing but humans, slaves to the Irkens and nothing more.

"Why don't we fight back?" Dib questioned bitterly, leaning against his bars, much like Gaz herself was doing. "Why do we let them treat us like this without fighting back?"

"We do fight back," Gaz muttered. "We're outnumbered, Dib, by a million to one, and those who do put up a fight are either exterminated or beaten to submission. There's nothing we can do."

Dib lowered his head, defeated. Gaz was right, he knew. They had fought back, they still did, but it was never enough. There were just too many of the Irkens, and not enough humans who could or would form a resistance against them.

_'There has to be a way,'_ he thought, unable to admit that all hope was lost just yet. _'There has to be...'_

"They're coming," Gaz announced, her gaze drifting back towards the doorway. Sure enough, in just seconds Dib could hear the approaching footsteps of what must have been a handful of Irkens. His eyes narrowed as the doors slid open, revealing four Irken guards, each of them armed with a powerful tranquilizer gun.

"Is this the one the Tallest wanted?" one of them asked, gesturing with his gun toward Gaz. One of his companions-a green-eyed Irken- nodded, already unhooking a set of keys from the belt of his uniform.

"That's the one," he said, sliding one rusty key into the lock of her cage. The other three Irkens crowded around him, their guns at the ready, a wary look in their eyes. Gaz barely hid a smirk-they had heard about her.

She glanced over at Dib, her lips drawn down in a frown as she saw the murderous look in his eyes. She silently prayed that he wouldn't do or say anything rash.

"Restrain her," the green-eyed one commanded, obviously the leader of the group. He opened the door of her cage, and almost immediately Gaz found herself being pulled to her feet by two of the Irkens, their claws wrapped around her arms in a vice-like grip. She barely heard Dib's cry of outrage as she was forced to the floor, her wrists pinned behind her back. Her teeth clenched as heavy iron shackles were snapped around her wrists, the metal biting into her skin. The restraints were secured as tight as possible, preventing all movement from her wrists.

As soon as they were sure her shackles were in place, they hauled her to her feet, where she swayed unsteadily for a moment before regaining her balance. She was unable to contain a cry of pain, however, as a gun was prodded into her back, the barrel digging into her still fresh wounds. Her vision swam before her eyes as a result, and she clenched them shut, nausea rising within her stomach.

"Move, human!" the green-eyed Irken demanded. He prodded the barrel of his gun into her back once more, harder than the last time to get his point across. Gaz thought she would pass out from the pain-she could feel her wounds re-opening by the second. Already a very familiar warmth had begun to trail down her cold skin, sticking to her tattered shirt.

"Leave her alone!" Dib cried, his hands fisted around the bars of his cage, a merciless rage feeling his eyes. His knuckles were paper-white as he gripped them, the muscles in his hands popping and hissing with the amount of pressure he used. He wouldn't let them hurt her anymore. Even if it meant risking his life, he had to do something-he wished desperately that he wasn't a trapped and helpless human stuck in a cage, that he could do something to save his sister. But there was nothing he could do, not while he was confined within these bars. Gaz was utterly defenseless against the Irkens on her own and injured as she was. Her reputation for fighting back was useless as long as she was too wounded to defend herself.

"Shut your mouth, human-scum!" another Irken, this one with scarlet eyes, snapped. He placed the barrel of his gun against the bars of Dib's cage, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. "This is none of your concern."

Dib's dark eyes narrowed behind his glasses. None of his concern! He reached out between the narrow spaces of his bars, his hand gripping the Irken's wrist. His anger towards the entire alien race flared within him as he squeezed the Irken's wrist, using as much strength as he could muster. Red swam before his eyes, anger like none other he had felt before swimming through his veins.

He barely felt it as the other Irkens rushed to their companions aid, their claws digging into his wrists as they struggled to release the howling alien in his grip. All he could feel was the crunching of bones as he squeezed even harder, a deep satisfaction filling him as pain etched itself across the Irken's features.

Suddenly a crippling pain shot through his hand, and he yelped in agony as he pulled it back within the confines of his cage, simultaneously releasing the alien from his hold. He glanced at his hand, which had already begun to swell from the blow the others had dealt.

"Dib!"

The cry of his name drew his attention back to his sister. She was struggling to break free of the green-eyed alien's grip, but her efforts were proving to be in vain. A clawed hand was wrapped around her waist, and in her pain-riddled state she could do little to fight against it.

"Enough!" the Irken snapped, his patience finally wearing thin. Tallest Red had said to take whatever actions needed to bring the female to her new 'home', and right now there was only one option available to him.

He raised his gun, bringing the butt of it down on her head. Her amber eyes widened in shock and pain for one brief moment, before they fluttered shut, her body falling limp. The male in the only other occupied cage cried out in fury, his screaming drowning out all other noise within the room.

"Shut that human up!" the Irken roared, his green eyes flashing. Grunting in annoyance, he lifted the human female up off the floor, throwing her over his shoulder. "Return to your respective posts as soon as you punish the human whelp for his..disrespectful attitude towards his superiors." A chorus of eager 'yes, sir's echoed in his ears as he stepped past the sliding doors, a smirk sliding onto his features as the sound of torture drifted to his ears.

_I love this job._

-

Gaz awoke with a great, shuddering breath, her hand flying to the back of her head. Pain rushed through her, her vision darkening as she pressed her hand to the wound. Her fingers were wet and sticky with blood as she pulled them away, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

_What happened?_ she wondered, broken images flashing before her eyes. She remembered being taken out of her cage, and put in shackles, and then her brother yelling...But then nothing.

She scowled, her eyes narrowing. That damn Irken had knocked her unconscious.

"So, you're finally awake."

Her head snapped toward the sound of the voice, and her scowl deepened as she saw who it was. Red stood on top of a raised dais, his arms crossed over his chest as he smirked down at her. Behind him were three identical thrones, made of some type of material she couldn't recognize, though they were all unoccupied. Behind the dais was an enormous mechanical ball, with wires running from its every side, connecting to the walls of the massive chamber they were in.

"Where am I?" she hissed, her fists clenching. Only now she realized that her shackles had been replaced. Iron manacles were wrapped around her wrists and ankles instead, connected to chains that secured her to the floor.

Red's smirk seemed to broaden at her question. He raised a solitary clawed hand, pointing to an area beyond her. "Look for yourself," he said.

Gaz turned her head, and immediately gasped at what she saw. Huge windows covered the outer wall of the chamber, through which she could see a never-ending sea of stars. The only solid object that stood out was a small, round ball, miles away from her, covered with mists of white foam.

Earth...

Angrily she turned back to Red, a murderous look in her eyes. "Why did you take me here!" she demanded, her wrists straining against her restraints as she moved.

Red laughed. "I told you yesterday that Furor was not an adequate master for you," he began. "You're rather...difficult to break, human. More so than any other of your pathetic race at least."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she growled, smirking as she remembered Furor's frustration with her.

"As I was saying," Red continued, ignoring her, "I knew only a member of the Tallest would be an appropriate master for the likes of you. But which one would be the right choice?" He smirked. "It was actually a very easy decision. I knew Purple wouldn't be enough-he seems to think of his humans as pets, rather than slaves...And of course, I wouldn't be the right choice-regardless of how much I would love to see you broken, of course. So, you see, there was only one other possible choice..."

Gaz growled, her hatred for Red increasing ten-fold. "You son of a-"

The sound of a door sliding open cut her off, and both human and Irken turned toward the doorway.

"Ah, here's your new master now," Red drawled, eyes alight with dark amusement as the human's eyes widened.

Gaz's breath caught in her throat as her eyes locked with familiar crimson orbs, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Zim..."


	3. Burn

A/N: Chapter Three may be a bit confusing, but it will make sense as the story goes along. This chapter may have you questioning Zim's behavior, but all will be revealed, so don't worry if you don't understand some things. 

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Glass Wings

**Chapter Three-Burn**

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_Like hell we are anxiously waiting, Like hell burning silently strong, Somehow we fell down by the wayside, And somehow this hell is home, Right now, this hell is my home-Burn (Alkaline Trio)_

"Zim..."

He was still the same as she remembered. Even though his appearance had changed, he was still the same Zim.

No longer dressed in his invader uniform, he wore attire fit for a leader. A blood-red cloak draped over his shoulders, trailing to the floor in a fall of liquid fire, the Armada's insignia stitched into the back. He looked almost regal, like a king, or as close to one as he could possibly get.

"You called me?" He asked, a look of boredom on his face as he addressed his co-ruler. Hearing his voice sent a sharp pang through her pounding heart. It hadn't changed either. Despite that, however, she knew she couldn't let herself get drawn into the illusion. Even if it looked like it, _felt_ like it, this wasn't the Zim she knew. She tried to remember that as her amber eyes drank in the sight of him.

How long had it been, she wondered, since she last saw him? She tried to remember, but her memory was like a jigsaw puzzle. There were so many pieces missing to it. After all, time had no meaning when you lived in a cage, when darkness was your constant companion, and the moon and sunlight were strangers to you. For all she knew, years could have passed since the invasion.

A devious expression spread across Red's face as he suddenly locked eyes with her across the room. She glared at him as hatred bubbled anew within her, driving all thoughts of the past from her mind.

"I've gotten you a new slave, Zim," Red grinned, clearly amused by her actions. "One I think you will appreciate." The way he said it sent icy chills up her spine, and she swallowed back the bile that threatened to climb up her throat.

"Is that so?" Zim's voice still held a definite trace of boredom, as if what Red had said was of no importance. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes half-closed. "Where is it?"

Gaz flinched. Not she, or he. _It_. A piece of property and nothing more-not enough to be considered worthy in their eyes.

"She's right over there," Red grinned, pointing one spidery finger at her. Gaz scowled at him,  
wishing for the day when their roles would be reversed, and he would be the one in chains as she gloated above him.

She steeled herself as Zim's crimson gaze turned to her, but she wasn't prepared for what she was faced with. His eyes were the one thing about him that _had_ changed. Where they were once bright and slightly manic, now they were cold and practically lifeless, as though his soul had been ripped from him. She shuddered as she realized that they were familiar, far too familiar.

They reminded her of her own eyes, emotionless and icy, without any trace of warmth in their depths.

_What happened to you?_ She thought, clenching her fists, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. _How could you have changed this much?_

She swallowed roughly as his eyes bore into her, trailing over her body. She wondered for the first time how threadbare she must look. She was still in the same clothes she had been wearing the night of the invasion-everyone was. Slaves were not allowed the luxury of any sort of comfort. By now her gray and purple sweater was ripped and torn, especially in the back. Her pants were no better, and her boots had been lost ages ago. Her hair, she knew, was in no better state, and she could only imagine what her face looked like.

"Well," Red chirped beside him. "What do you think? Are you satisfied with her?"

Blood oozed as Gaz clenched her fists harder, fighting against the urge to shrink away. Zim had ignored Red's question, his eyes still trained on her's as he slowly made his way forward. Every fiber in her being quivered with anticipation, her throat dry and her breath rushing past her lips in sharp rasps. He took long, graceful strides toward where she kneeled, the thump of his boots on the cold floor imitating the beating of her heart.

His steps halted at her side, and she forcefully raised her head, amber eyes defiant. She wouldn't show weakness, not to anyone, regardless of the past.

"There's a reason you're giving her to me," He said. It wasn't a question. Gaz flinched as he gripped her chin between two claws, raising her head so that he could look directly into her eyes. She grit her teeth, her eyes narrowed in anger.

_Don't touch me,_ She thought viciously. Flashes of her dream passed through her mind. _You're not him, even if you have his voice, and his body._ As long as his eyes were different, as long as they maintained that cold indifference, she could believe that. She had to.

"She and brother-Dib, I believe-have proven themselves to be...rather stubborn creatures. They've caused quite a stir amongst the slave handlers." Red stepped down off of the dais as he talked, slowly hovering towards them. "I've lost count of how many new masters I've had to assign to them, in the hopes that at least _one_ of them would be able to break them." He sighed. "Torture seems to have absolutely no effect on them-this one doesn't even scream, doesn't emit one frightened sound."

Zim studied her for a moment, as though considering how such a thing could be true. "Maybe you just aren't trying hard enough," He suggested, his tone smug. Red's eyes narrowed slightly, and Gaz could see his grin falter for a moment before the expression passed and he was smiling once more.

"Do you think _you_ could do any better?" He questioned, smirking. He knew the younger alien would be quick to take the bait.

Just as expected, a smirk appeared on Zim's face as he glanced at his co-ruler. "Of course."

"Very well then. She's your's." Red reached behind his back, into what Gaz could only assume was his PAK, before pulling out a long, thin strap. He pushed it into Zim's waiting claws, a smirk curling his lips as he saw the human's horrified expression.

Gaz jerked her head away from Zim's grip, a sound between horror and repulsion escaping her lips. She pulled back from the two aliens as far as her chains would allow, even going so far as to pull on them in her desperate need to escape. She barely felt it as the cold metal cut into her skin. All she could focus on was the leather strap resting innocently within Zim's claws.

A collar. They were going to put a damn _collar_ around her neck!

"Stay away from me!" She hissed, her words dripping acid as anger and adrenaline pounded through her veins. She could deal with the chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles, could deal with her metal cage, but to put a collar around her throat...She wasn't a dog!

Zim smirked as she continued to struggle against her bonds. _Foolish human,_ He thought, already reaching toward her. _Why do they always choose the hard way?_

Gaz saw him moving toward her, and her nightmare came back into focus with more force than ever before. She shot her arm forward, her nails raking against cool alien skin with enough impact to snap Zim's head to the side. Horror filled her eyes as she gazed at her fingertips, which were smeared with warm, purple blood.

_What have I done?_ She thought, her eyes drinking in the sight of dark blood. Before she could do anything about it, however, she felt a hard metal force slam into her shoulders. She cried out as she was pushed back onto the floor, four long, metal claws impaling her clothing, and effortlessly pinning her to the ground.

Amber eyes clashed with blazing crimson as Zim pressed his face close to hers. His expression was furious, and his zipper teeth showed white as he sneered at her.

"Do not _ever_ strike me again," He whispered venomously. Gaz glared into his eyes, showing not a trace of fear as they sized each other up. She could see a faint scratch on his cheek, along with a thin trail of dark purple blood oozing down from it. "Do I make myself clear, human?" He practically spat out the word.

Gaz winced beneath the restraint of his metal legs, struggling. His patience wearing thin, Zim pinned her further still with his hands on her shoulders, his legs pinning both of her's together. Effectively trapped now, Gaz could do nothing but lie still, her eyes searing hatred into his own.

"I suppose you have everything under control then," Red remarked, hovering back over to the raised dais. He settled himself into his own chair, boredly laying his head in his hand. If one looked close enough, however, they would see the malicious glint in his eyes, along with the calculating stare he leveled at the two on the chamber's floor.

However, Zim had barely noticed the other Tallest's departure. He was too busy restraining the human to pay attention to anything else.

"Stay still," He demanded, releasing her shoulders to pick up the discarded collar. Fear and repulsion flashed through her amber eyes, causing him to smirk. He reached his hands around her throat, his claws barely brushing her skin. Gaz closed her eyes against the sensation, clenching her fists.

_This isn't him,_ She scolded herself. _This is someone else, someone using his face and his voice, but it's **not** him._ Her argument, she realized, was beginning to sound weak even to her own ears.

The collar snapped into place, and Zim released her, rising to his feet as his metal legs retracted. Gaz slowly, painfully rose into a kneeling position, her hands rubbing the skin of her neck that wasn't covered by the leather strap.

_So this is what I've been reduced to,_ She thought, her face grim. _Collared like some animal. _She cringed as her metal shackles suddenly gave way, clattering to the floor. Bruises littered her ankles and wrists, and dried blood clung to her pale skin.

"Get up, human," Zim commanded, his arms crossing over his chest. Gaz glared up at him, her eyes defiant. "Make me," She hissed. In the back of her mind, she knew she would pay for her insolence, but she didn't care. She could take whatever pain they inflicted.

Enraged by her disobedience, Zim fisted his claws in the tattered collar of her shirt, hauling her up into the air to his eye level. His crimson eyes were practically consumed with fury, yet Gaz showed no sign of fear.

"Human, you are stretching my patience to its limits," He growled. Angrily, he settled her feet on the floor, though he did not relinquish his grip. Gaz could do little but follow him as he turned on his heel and strode toward the door. Her feet could barely catch up with his, and she found herself nearly stumbling into him the farther they walked.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You belong to me now, human," Zim remarked. "and no one else." He glanced over his shoulder at her, his crimson eyes once more reminding her of her dream. "Therefore, you must be marked, so that everyone knows you belong to Tallest Zim."

"Marked!" Gaz nearly shouted, her voice full of rage. "What do you mean marked!" Her voice,  
despite the iron-clad restraint she had on it, began to break. "Is this some sort of revenge you're after, Zim? Is that it?"

She suddenly found herself pushed against the wall, Zim's face inches from her own.

"Never address me by that name!" He hissed.

"And why not!" She screamed, the control over her emotions snapping, "I've said it plenty of times before! Far before the invasion-!"

"What are talking about, human?" Zim snapped, regarding her with those cold, strange eyes. "I've never even met you before! Or any of your other pathetic race for that matter!"

He pulled away from her then, and Gaz had to hold on to the wall to keep herself upright. Her eyes were wide and unseeing as her brain tried to process what he had said.

Taking advantage of her passive state, Zim once more grabbed hold of her shirt collar, pulling her behind him. Almost in a trance, Gaz followed, her mind in turmoil.

How could he say that? Did he truly not remember her? But that was impossible! It had to be...

_No,_ She thought, eyes blurring as she stared at him, remembering his eyes, and her dream, and the hell she had lived through since the Irkens had invaded. Was everything that happened before that a lie? A dream? Was this nightmare the true reality, and everything else before it nothing but a forgotten dream?

"NO! Please!"

A human's screamed echoed down the corridor, and Gaz broke free from her thoughts as she glanced ahead to see what had caused it. The only thing that she could see was a large, metal door, though she had no clue as to what it was. Everything looked the same to her, whether it be on Earth in the slave barracks or here on the Massive.

As they drew closer, however, she could hear more than just one human's cries. Multiple screams echoed from within the chamber, some blood-curdling and some heart wrenching. Shivers raced up her spine as Zim led her closer, and she realized with horrified clarity that he was taking her to that room.

As they drew nearer to the door, it broke apart in the middle, sliding into the adjacent walls and allowing them passage into the chamber. Two Irkens stood within the doorway, their eyes watching the spectacle within with barely captivated interest. At the sight of Zim, they immediately straightened, wiggling their antennae in salute.

"What can we do for you, my Tallest?" One asked, his blue eyes reminding Gaz of Furor, their depths swimming with malice toward the humans within the room.

Zim barely spared him a glance before pushing her forward, his grip releashing as she fell to the floor at the blue-eyed Irken's feet. "She's mine," He announced. "A new addition. See that she's marked and returned to my chambers immediately." Without a second glance back at her, Zim retreated from the room, his cloak snapping around his ankles as he did so.

Left alone with the relentless Irkens, Gaz finally allowed herself to see what was happening. Her breath escaped her lungs in an almost painful gust, her eyes widening with terror and revulsion.

Humans, countless humans, were being held withing cages, much like the ones she was so used to. However, these were big enough to house a handful or more of humans. Cluttered together in their prison, they could only watch as one after one of them was taken away, forced to their knees on the floor by two or more Irkens, depending on how much restraint they needed. Another alien, this one somewhat taller than the rest, with glinting lavender eyes, held a long, metal rod in his hand, the end of which was burning a bright, angry red. As Gaz looked closer, she could see that it was actually a large, red 'R', with a circular design around the letter.

Finally, she understood what Zim had meant by 'marked.'

She resisted as she was pushed to her knees, but she was too exhausted, and the Irkens who held her were too powerful. She twisted in their grasp, her eyes searching frantically for Zim. He couldn't possibly let them do this to her...No matter how much he had changed, no matter how much he hated her race...

"ZIM!" Her voice was ragged and filled with an almost desperation. She could see him, farther on down the corridor, his cloak trailing after him. But he still didn't turn around, didn't even acknowledge her voice.

The Irkens pushed her down, gripping her arms and stilling her movements, but her screaming did not cease. She screamed until he was out of sight, all hope dying inside her chest as her heart constricted and bled within her ribcage. The doors slid closed before her eyes, blocking out all means of escape, and further killing what little hope she had of getting free.

The tall Irken, whose lavender eyes regarded her with disgust after her outburst, pulled another steel rod out of a vat placed over a fire. Sweat poured from her forehead as she saw the scarlet 'Z' at its end, burning bright and hot, and inching its way toward her. Her sleeve was ripped away from her arm, exposing her pale white shoulder to the rod's burning gaze.

She screamed as the brand was pushed onto the flesh of her shoulder. The heat seared her flesh, burning it and sending an unbearable pain shooting up and down her arm, crawling along her entire body and snaking its way into her bones. The smell of burning flesh filled the chamber, making her gag and choke as she continued to scream, the sound animal and feral and unfamiliar to her ears. Her nightmare raced before her eyes, screams echoing in the background as other humans shared her fate.

The brand was pulled away after what felt like an eternity of agony. Her arm was completely numb, and her muscles trembled as she turned her aching head, staring at her shoulder.

A diamond shaped design, charred a deep, dark black, stood out against the burnt skin of her arm, a capital 'Z' in the middle of it all. Seeing it made the reality of her nightmare come crashing down on her, and Gaz felt herself slipping away, her eyes heavy and frozen.

She welcomed the darkness that engulfed her, willingly falling into the silence of oblivion.

**Tbc**


	4. Memory

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Glass Wings

**Chapter Four-Memory**

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_I'm searching for answers, 'Cause something is not right, I follow the signs, I'm close to the fire, I fear that soon you'll reveal, Your dangerous mind. -Dangerous Mind (Within Temptation)_

_Pathetic!_

Zim stormed down the hallway, his cloak snapping at his heels and twirling around his ankles. Any stray Irken that stood in his way immediately moved to the side, giving him a clumsy salute as their enraged leader passed by.

_Absolutely fucking pathetic!_

His claws itched to wind themselves around that human's scrawny neck, to squeeze until her amber eyes grew wide with fright and faded as the air left her fragile body. He wanted her to scream and writhe in pain on the floor at his feet, all the while begging for him to spare her pathetic, disgusting, utterly _useless _life...

His fist rammed itself into the solid metal walls, the sickening crack of bone against metal grating his ears. The pain was immense, but he could ignore it in favor of his anger. How _dare_ that girl strike him? Him! The Almighty Tallest Zim! The gall of that human, thinking she could hit _him_ and get away with it!

"..M-my T-Tallest?" A quaky voice asked to his side. Zim glared at the timid looking alien in front of him, crimson eyes narrowed.

"_What?_"

The Irken flinched at his sharp tone, their sea-green eyes wide in their head. "The...your new slave, T-tallest. She's been brought to your c-chambers. As ordered, sir." Cursing their own foolish stuttering, the Irken lowered his head, antennae drooping forward. His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for his superior to speak, praying to whatever Deity that would listen to spare him from the taller one's wrath.

Zim's narrow eyes brightened considerably, a small smirk forming on his face. _Oh yes..._ The girl's branding had been completed then. He knew well the pain the humans went through each time the brand was seared into their flesh-it was much like how all Irkens reacted to water. The thought of the girl in the pain he had been wishing upon her just moments before brought an even wider smirk to his face, and he turned from the shorter alien without a second thought, his boot-clad feet leading him straight to his chambers and the slave that lay within.

-

When Gaz awoke, it was to a mind numbing pain. It shot through her entire body, pounding in her head and throbbing in every muscle that moved. It centered on her shoulder, where she knew a dull red brand now stood, marking her once white skin a crisp and blackened crimson. It _hurt_. It hurt more than any amount of beating could do in a lifetime. Her flesh felt too raw, too new, like someone had stripped her of her old flesh and coated her in a new one, one that stung and brought tears to her eyes whenever she tried to move.

She moaned in agony as she raised her head, dry eyes opening only to shut tightly just moments later. Even though her vision was swimming, she had still been able to make out a blur of bright green.

Zim.

He hadn't noticed she was awake, that much she was sure of. She cracked her eyes open once more, just a slit of amber, enough to view Zim but give nothing of her awareness away. He had his back to her, his claws resting at his sides as he gazed out of a massive window. She could see the vast expanse of space, stars glittering like diamonds. She wondered what he was thinking, and her lips parted just barely as she prepared to ask him.

_No._ She clamped her mouth shut, closing her eyes tiredly. Did the past twenty-four hours now mean nothing! This was not the Zim she remembered. She had to remember and accept that. He had branded her, though not with his own hands, had dubbed her his slave and he her master, as though what stood between them so long ago had never even happened.

_He acts as though I'm a stranger,_ She mused, her eyes opening once more to study him. _For some reason that I can't figure out, he doesn't...remember me. _But how was that possible? It had been a while since the invasion, but surely that short amount of time could not erase her memory from him? No, she reasoned, that made no sense at all. All that they had been through...the things she had told him, the things _he_ had told _her_...

Something was wrong. More horribly wrong than she could have ever imagined. There was no way that six years worth of memories could be wiped from Zim's mind within the short span of time between the start of the invasion and now. Not without someone else's help.

Slowly, Gaz allowed her eyes to slide open fully, wincing in pain as she struggled to rise to her knees. She had to talk to him, figure out what had happened, why there seemed to be so many blanks in his memory...

"...!" She blinked in astonishment as she gaped as she finally rose to her knees, her amber eyes wide in shock and alarm. Zim had his back still turned to her, though surely the bed she lay on had given some sort of protest to her movement. His cloak, blood-red and sliding through his fingers like silk, was unclasped and no longer covered his shoulders and back, allowing her to see a long, slender expanse of...

Nothing. Nothing but a long strip of black cloth.

_Where is his PAK?_

-

Purple glided toward his chair, slipping into it with a peaceful sigh. _Finally_, some relaxation. He steepled his two-fingered claws one on top of the other, laying his chin on them as he gazed almost dreamily out at the huge amount of space beyond the windows. Today had been so tiring. He had spent it alternating between overseeing the new troops to cataloging the newly-birthed smeets to pouring over paperwork relating to the empire. He was _exhausted_.

"Rough day?"

Purple glanced to his side, offering a meek wave at his co-ruler as Red took his place in his own chair.

"It was exhausting," Purple murmured, leaning his head back. "Isn't Zim supposed to be helping us with this? I haven't seen _him_ slaving away at anything today..."

Red's eyes glittered strangely, and Purple glared at him over his entwined claws. "Alright, spill it. What did you do?"

Red glanced in mock surprise at his companion, before he shrugged his shoulders admitted defeat. "You know me too well," He muttered, "but yes, I _did_ do something..." He smirked slightly. "I awarded Zim a new slave."

"A new slave?" Purple asked. If he had had eyebrows, they would have shot up in confusion. "But why? He barely plays with the ones he has now." Red tilted his head to the side, his smirk broadening.

"Oh, he'll 'play' with this one alright. I'm sure of it." At Purple's confused stare, he explained. "It's _that_ human."

Purple's eyes widened, a grin slowly stretching itself across his face. "The female?"

Red nodded. "Yes, the female. It was quite...entertaining, to say the least, when they first met." Chuckling, he related the story to his co-ruler, who burst into laughter. "Who would've thought a human could have so much fight in them!"

"Hey, Red?" Purple asked, his laughter slowly fading away. "What if he remembers...?"

Red waved a claw, as though batting the thought away. "He won't," He assured, "not with all of his memories safely stored away. But-" here he smiled, a dark and cruel smirk that sent chills-though not of an unpleasant kind-down his companion's spine. "Won't it be fun, watching him brake her? Brake the one thing he loves most?

"-the one thing he almost _died_ for?"

-

A/N: Yes, I know. -holds up white flag- Forgive me for not updating in so long. I've not been in a Zimmy-enough mood to work on this in a while, and I had a terrible case of writer's block. Actually, I'm home sick from school today and just sat down at my computer and started typing! This is the result. I know it's not as long as the others, but hopefully it'll tide you over until my next update. School's out in two weeks, though, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long...

Until then, reviews and suggestions are always appreciated. And hopefully the plot is starting to come together...Let me know what you think!

A/N: Oh yes, I've got the cover page for this fic up in my deviantART account, if anyone's interested. Just go to my profile and follow the links!


	5. Life

A/N: A new character is introduced in this chapter, as well as a few that we know and love. Invader Ele is a new face, and SpazzSim, if you're reading this, you know who it is! I hope I made your character as awesome as you are! And believe me, she will play an important role in my fic. 

**Warnings:** A few Character Deaths in this chapter, though they are minor ones, along with semi-graphic descriptions of their deaths. Also, there will be hints of RAPR and DATR in this chapter and throughout the rest of the fic, so if you don't like those pairings...keep reading! You're all here for the ZAGR-goodness anyway!

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Glass Wings

**Chapter Five-Life**

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_I try, To be the man I am, In times of broken lives, And shattered dreams and plans, Standing up to fight, The pressures and demands, Staring at the knife, And holding in your hand, What used to be your life__-I Want My Life (Smile Empty Soul)_

Dib leaned his back against the cool bars of his cage, sighing tiredly. He raised filthy, dirt-encrusted hands to his face, grimacing in disgust as he swiped them through his hair. Jet-black hair stuck to his far too thin fingers in greasy clumps, the scythe from so long ago non-existent now. It was far too long, he decided, and then he smirked. His hair was the least of his worries, had _been_ the least of his worries for the better part of two years.

He supposed he was going insane. Slowly but surely, he was losing what little bit of his mind he had left. _'And hey, that wasn't much to begin with anyway, was it?'_ At least, as far as his school mates were concerned...

_'Glass flew in every direction as the windows exploded, shards soaring over the heads of terrified students. Cries filled the room as unfortunate classmates were nicked by the flying pieces, their eyes brimmed with a morbid sense of wonder as they gazed at their rent skin, their own crimson life-blood pooling and congealing at their feet._

_'How foolish they were, his peers. How utterly moronic. Sitting there, in the midst of chaos, horrified by mere cuts, wounds that, while painful, were utterly harmless. Sitting there while their world came crashing down around their ears, eyes frightened and doe-like as they watched the massive ship hovering the air above their heads, even as the roof was pulled away by groping, metal claws._

_'Move! He wanted to urge them, tell them to flee, escape while you can! It's here, it's finally here, and all you can do is stand there and watch it! What's wrong with you! I said _move_! But they did nothing, absolutely fucking nothing. Just stood there and watched with thier mouths-the same mouths that had mocked him, ridiculed him for what was _real_, it's right there in front of you, I was telling the truth the whole _time_-gaped open with awe and horror._

_'Claws, metal gaping wide enough to swallow them all, came crashing into the room. Finally,_ finally_, they moved. Sara screamed, her eyes wide and her cloak falling back onto her trembling shoulders. He wondered for the first time why she still wore it, why she didn't let them see the fall of sleek auburn hair that fell to her shoulders, before he realized how ridiculous,  
how _stupid_ such a thought was. Why wasn't he _running!

_'Zita, or Melvin, or _someone_ screamed in his ear, and Dib had no chance to move, no way to know what had happened before a slick, warm-too warm, too slick, too_ damn hot_-liquid splashed onto his shoulder, onto the side of his face, turning his back trench coat into something darker, something vile, something he wanted _off_. It stuck to his nostrils like a parasite, filling his senses with a coppery, bitter smell._

_'He didn't know why he turned-truly he didn't-but he did and now he wouldn't ever be able to get that sight out of his head. Gretchen, Gretchen had been the one to shriek, Gretchen had been the one to spill that...that _stuff_ all over his side. Gretchen was the one who lay at his feet, her mouth split down the middle, upper jaw to the top of her head gone from her body. Teeth once burdened by steel glistened pure and white, teeth she had been so proud to show to the world after years of teasing, years of solitude-oh **God!**-years of being like _him_, now splattered with red._

_'No, no, no, this couldn't be! It couldn't! Gretchen wasn't lying there with no head, no _half_ a head, and there wasn't...there wasn't...b-blood plastered to his side. There wasn't..._

_'But then Melvin shrieked as the metal claw tore into his frail, always fragile body, and it was all real again. And it _burned_, God, it burned! The blood burned on his skin, on his face! The sight of Melvin torn apart by gleaming, unfeeling metal burned into his eyes, and he wanted to fall to his knees, to scream at the nightmare to just GO AWAY! Why wouldn't it just go away!_

_'But no, no! He couldn't break, not now, not when he was needed-finally needed!- and not when his sister, the one person who meant the most to him, and his best friend, the one he was so grateful for having, were in danger. No, he had to find them, help them, do something to keep them away from this bloodshed, this...this nightmare._

_'And he ran. He ran as hard, as fast as his legs could carry him, out of that classroom that he would never see again, away from Gretchen and Melvin and whoever else had not been fast enough, strong enough to get away. He wished, he _yearned _for them to alive, to not be so lifeless on the floor of the place they had been so wronged in, so mistreated and bullied for something so shallow as appearance and social status. He regretted never getting to know them better, when they were_ so much like him.

_'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So, so sorry...He wouldn't let it happen again, not again, not to the two people he _did_ know, the two people he loved with all his heart, not after everything they had been through. He wouldn't let someone he loved die again, not like Mom, not like Dad..._

_'Not again._

_'The screams rang on behind him, and nothing, _nothing_, would ever let him forget them.'_

Dib shuddered, clawing at his eyes in feeble swipes. It did no good. He could still see it, still see Gretchen and Melvin's bodies just _lying_ there, eyes once dull with boredom from the teacher's long rants now dull for an entirely different reason. He still couldn't fight down the regret he felt, the guilt that ate at his stomach and crawled into his heart at the memory of his two classmates. They didn't deserve that...No one, no one deserved that pain, that agony...

But that didn't matter to the Irkens. Nothing mattered to the Irkens but the Irkens. That was it. They loved no one, they cared for no one. No one but themselves. How many planets, he wondered, had been taken over by their relentless forces, how many civilizations had been torn apart by their claws, how many people had been forced to watch their friends, their lovers, their families die before their eyes, before being sent away into slavery?

Far too many. And it had to stop.

But how, he wondered, a bitter smile twisting his lips. Who would stop them? Him? He snorted. He had been trying to stop the Irkens for _six_ years. And it had led nowhere, absolutely nowhere, had gained him nothing but a relentless teasing and the role of an outcast.

_'You've always been an outcast, Dib. Aliens didn't do that. YOU did.' Gaz's lips were tilted into a smirk that _would_ have seemed cruel, if it weren't for the teasing, somewhat playful look in her tawny eyes. She clubbed him on the shoulder, and he flinched away, forcing a scowl onto his lips despite the laughter that bubbled in his throat._

_'Watch it, Gaz!' He rubbed his sore skin, wincing. 'Get rid of the rings before you do something like that!' He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his broad chest, trying to be intimidating. It only served to make Gaz snort in amusement, polishing the multiple rings circled around her thin, wraith-like fingers._

_'She eyed him up and down, struggling to contain her laughter-he could tell by the way her eyes lit up that she was enjoying every second of his discomfort, the sadist. 'You really think that's gonna work on me?' She challenged, raising one thin, violet eyebrow. She crossed her own arms over her chest, tall and almost feral looking as she smirked, eyes mere slits._

_'Dib sighed, quailing under his baby sister's gaze. Even a head shorter than him and she could _still_ scare the crap out of him! Then again, Gaz could scare just about anyone. Except for..._

_'An evil grin lit up his face, surprising even his little sister, whose own eyes narrowed even more at the downright _devious_look on her brother's face. 'What?' She snapped, booted foot clicking against the plush carpeted floor of their living room. Dib turned slowly around, easing towards the door, his hand sliding down into the inner pocket of his trench coat._

_'Gaz's eyes widened as a wild blush spread across her cheeks. 'Don't you dare!' She warned, eyes burning with murderous rage as she eased after him. 'If you do, I'll...I'll-!'_

_'You'll what?' Dib taunted, easing his cell phone out of his pocket. He casually flipped it open, fingers automatically flying to the bright blue number one, ready to press it at the slightest move from his baby sister. Speed dialing, he thought, was something heaven-sent._

_'Don't you wanna see your BOYFRIEND?' He made sure to drawl out the last word, eyes crinkling in laughter as his sister's blush seemed to spread down her neck. It was nice to be the one dishing out the teasing for once, especially since this was pretty much the _only_ thing he could tease her about._

_'He is NOT my boyfriend, Dib!' She nearly shouted, purple strands of hair flinging before her eyes as she shook her head. 'If you don't shut up about this...!' She cracked her knuckles and shot him a glare, sending the message loud and clear. Do it, and I kill you. Slowly._

_'He smirked then, not because he didn't believe her-he _did_ know his sister, after all. Any threat she made was as good as carried out-but because he knew how hard it was for her, to accept this. To know that he had something he could hold over her, something she had been so embarrassed to confess to him. But she had, and that was all that mattered. He still couldn't believe she had told him, with no amount of goading or prodding from him. Sure, he had _suspected_...but he had never questioned it. She had merely sat him down one afternoon and told him, no skirting around the issue or asking his permission on it. Just told him. And then threatened that if he ever told _anyone_, she would rip out his tongue and choke him with it._

_'Of course, that pretty much secured his silence._

_'Didn't stop him from teasing her about it though. It was his _job_, after all, to tease his _baby_ sister, his anti-social baby sister at that, about her first crush. It was...sweet, in a way, he supposed, though he would've gagged if anyone were to hear him say that out loud. He saw them together, how they fluttered around each other, stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. It was so horribly cliche that he couldn't help but tease them about it mercilessly. They were so stubborn about it though. He figured it was his job as best friend and big brother to give them a few pushes in the right direction, and if that meant teasing them until they both grew red with anger and embarrassment, well..._

_'Dib sighed, closing the lid of his phone and backing off. 'Yeah, yeah,' He murmured, ruffling his sister's hair as he passed her (something she hated and he 'damn well knew it!') before shuffling his way up the stairs. He could hear Gaz curse before the familiar sounds of the GameStation firing up reached his ears, and he smirked._

_'It was so easy to get a rise out of her these days...'_

Dib found himself once more swiping at his face, this time to erase the scalding tears that clung to his dirtied cheeks. The memories of days long passed, days like _that_, with Gaz and their endless teasing, the was they _were_-it was enough to kill him. Kill him because he didn't think they would ever be like that again. Kill him because, no matter how much he wished it, the possibility of seeing his little sister's teasing grin, the one he tried so damn hard to get her to show more often, the one _he_...the one Zim got her to show so _much_...he might never see it again.

He reared back his fist and punched the floor of his cage, shoulders trembling as he allowed the burning tears to fall. He cursed himself for his weakness, but knew that at least no one could see him, alone as he was. Alone because Gaz _wasn't there_. Because she was with _him_...

Zim...

_'Please, don't hurt her,'_ He pleaded. _'Please, Zim...I know...I _know _you're not the same as before, I know you're different now, I know they did something to you, but...Please, you have to remember Gaz...At least, you have to remember _something _about her...After everything you went through together...everything _we _went through...How could you just forget...?'_

"How could you forget us, Zim...?"

"I think I can answer that, Dib-human."

A clang, a collision of metal against steel, and Dib could feel the bars of his cage ripping free of their perch. Wide, dark eyes peered into the gloom as they were thrown carelessly away, hitting the floor with a resounding smack of metal against hard marble tile. His mouth worked uselessly, jaw hanging as he gaped, speechless.

Green fingers, clothed in fingerless gloves touched his chin, feather soft as they snapped his jaw into place. Dark purple eyes lit up with amusement, lips tilting upwards in a smirk.

"Struck dumb I see," The voice was still the same, even after all these years...The accent was heavy, so very different from the other Irkens he had seen. He stared in utmost fascination at the curled antennae, the lithe figure, the aura of stubborn arrogance that he remembered, the same arrogance he received from the very ship that had been left behind.

"...Tak?"

-

Zim stared at his reflection, stared_past_ it actually, to the girl whose eyes were currently wide and gaping in her pale face. He fought down the smirk that threatened to consume his face, not wanting her to know that he was aware of her. Yet.

It was amusing, really, to see the shock and terror that could show itself on a human's face. He never tired of it-the way their eyes would widen, practically engulfing their ashen faces, the way they would tremble and shake, their weak limbs curling around themselves as though they could shield them. It was so utterly pathetic, but so...sweetly addicting, just to cause that fear, to know it was you that made a person weak, vulnerable. Judging by the look on this girl's face, she would be no exception to that.

However...she had put up quite a fight, before. Had even called him by his name, his _true_ name, something that no one, not even his co-rulers, were allowed to call him. Of course, that didn't stop them from doing it. No, Red and Purple relished in it, knowing it infuriated him.

The mere thought of his co-rulers caused any amusement he felt towards the human to quail. They treated him like a new-born smeet! It enraged him to no end, the way they would smirk down at him, as though they were so much better, so superior to him in every way, when he was just as tall, just as strong, just as commanding as the two of them put together. They acted as though they knew something he didn't, like they were constantly joking about something behind his back, something he would never know and yet something he desperately wished to learn.

He couldn't even understand how someone such as _them_ were so blessed as to become the Tallest. Red, at least was a somewhat capable ruler-even Zim could admit to that (though it would pain him greatly to say that out loud). He had gotten the Empire this far, at least, had led them through the invasion of the little mud ball of a planet without any problems whatsoever, and even now, he was ruling over the humans with an iron fist, keeping them in line. But Purple...Zim could not for the life of him understand how such a...childish Irken could be considered a capable ruler. There was nothing about him that could be considered good qualities for a leader, nothing. He referred to his slaves as 'pets' for Irk's sake! He had even been questioned by the violet eyed Irken why he didn't _play_ with his slaves more!

Secretly, Zim thought that the only reason Purple was even kept around was because of Red. He knew the crimson eyed Tallest had a 'soft spot' for his other co-ruler. It was so...obvious to him, the attachment the two Tallests had for one another. The others saw it too, he knew. He could tell by the somewhat uneasy gazes they would give the Rulers whenever they were in the same room together. They all found it...disturbing, and Zim couldn't say that he blamed them.

Irkens were not meant to love, to hold 'affection', yet Red and Purple, their _leaders_, the Almighty Tallest themselves, practiced in it, reveled in it even. Affection, compassion was seen as a weakness, ingrained into their heads from day one, or beaten out of them if that didn't get the point across. So then why could their very leaders engage in it, if it was considered forbidden to everyone else?

Zim found his fists tightening. It was yet another reason to add to his growing list of hatred for the other Tallests, yet another thing to envy them for. They could do what they wanted, _be_ with who they wanted because they were superior, supreme. Even over him.

Because he wasn't...like them. They knew who they were, they could go to sleep at night knowing that they were Tallests, leaders of the Irken Empire and holders of something that no one else could have.

They could rest easy in the knowledge that there were no blanks in their memory, that they could remember who the hell they were without having to be _told_, having to have their own _lives_ told to them like some sort of story because they _couldn't remember anything_.

_'Eyes fluttered open, crimson bleeding with exhaustion and so much _pain_. Agony lanced through a body far too raw, too torn and tattered and open and sore. It all hurt so damn much._

_'A hacking cough tore itself free from his body as he wearily pulled himself up, leaning heavily on arms threatening to collapse beneath him. His antennae drooped forward, plastered to his scalp with a sickly sweat that clung to his skin. His head raged, felt like it was splitting in two and he almost screamed. What was wrong with him! He tried to remember, tried to call forth some memory as to what he was doing before _this_ happened. He reached into the farthest cell of his mind, struggling to recall something, anything, and choked on air as his breaths only quickened, brought on by pure, unadulterated fear._

_'He couldn't remember anything._

_'There was nothing but a huge, blank slab of white, nothing at all to fill it. He couldn't remember anything-his name, who he was, _where_ he was. Nothing but a void._

_'So you're finally awake, hmmm?' The voice oozed with arrogance, and he turned his head quickly, wincing as the movement caused stars to dance before his vision. He shook his head to clear it, focusing on the owner of the voice._

_'A tall...something stood before him (he couldn't remember what to call it, him, whatever it was). It wore some sort of armor, green skin light and smooth, eyes a deep shade of blood red. Two cord-like antennae sprouted from his head, twitching in...amusement? He couldn't be sure._

_'He noticed, as he gazed to the right of the first creature, that another one stood beside it. It look entirely the same, except instead of blood reds and light crimsons, it was composed of deep violets and searing purples._

_'Who...Who am I?' He murmered, voice a mere whisper, so cracked and hoarse that it made him wince. He was going to ask who _they_ were, but it seemed his mind had more pressing questions that it wanted the answers to. He watched in slight confusion as the creatures-why couldn't he remember what they were called! He knew it, he knew he did!-exchanged a look, lips melting into pleased, feral smirks. The red one leered down at him, two-fingered claws crossing over his chest._

_'You are Zim.'_

Zim shook himself from the memory, shuddering in disgust as he recalled how utterly pathetic he had been, clinging to the two Irkens as they told him the story of his own life, their voices so arrogant that it made him furious just to think about it.

_'I have better things to do than to antagonize over those idiots,'_ He snarled to himself, red eyes turning back to the girl, who had moved from her previous position. She stood stiffly, ramrod straight by the bed, her pale fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her expression was unreadable yet again, a trait he found utterly annoying.

"So you're finally awake," He muttered, voice cutting. He wouldn't let memories-the only ones he had-of the past cloud his mind. He had a job to do and a slave to attend to, and his co-rulers, as far as he was concerned, could take their forbidden love and superiority complex and shove it.

He didn't care anymore. He wouldn't.

-

"...Tak?"

Tak's eyes glinted in the dim light of the room, amusement flaring in them. "That's right, human," She said, fingers twirling idly around a thin plasma gun. She looked him up and down, studying his ragged appearance and greasy, unkempt hair, and Dib found himself flushing, shifting nervously from foot to foot. He was suddenly hyper aware of his filthy appearance, and he cursed inwardly, wondering vaguely why the hell it even mattered. He wasn't trying to impress anyone!

"Why are you here!" he nearly shouted, only just managing to lower his voice into something like a whisper, conscious of the guards that could be posted right outside the door, though he doubted there were any-if the noise the bars made when they hit the floor hadn't attracted anything, his voice would be no different. Still, it paid to be safe rather than sorry.

Tak's eyes narrowed briefly before she shrugged, slipping her gun into the holster on her hip. "I _was_ going to save you, human, but now I'm not so sure..." She made as if to turn away, lips pulling into a smirk as Dib's arm shot out, his fingers wrapping around her wrist in an almost vice-like grip.

"No!" He pleaded, eyes apologetic. "I'm sorry. Just..." He took a deep breath, and Tak allowed herself a small moment of victory before shrugging off the apology.

"No time for that now. We have to hurry." Dib's eyebrows rose in confusion, watching as she reached into her PAK, pulling out what appeared to be a keypad of some sort. He still hadn't quite gotten over the fact that _Tak_ was here, saving him. He couldn't even think to ask her why, as caught off guard as he was. "Hurry where?" Was all that he could think of to question her.

Tak smirked, opening the lid of what he now realized was a small, handheld computer. The screen filled with static before abruptly switching to an image of a small, slumbering Irken. Dib watched as Tak's face creased in annoyance, even as her eyes studied the Irken with a spark of...warmth? He couldn't be sure.

"Invader Ele!" Tak barked, eyes narrowed as her face shifted from light to serious in a matter of seconds. The Irken who had previously been asleep jerked awake at the sound of Tak's voice, eyes spinning around wildly until they landed on the screen.

Dib's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the strange Irken. Her eyes-at least, he thought it was a she-were a beautiful shade of lavender, wide and somehow appealing on her pale green face. They were rimmed in a ring of darker violet, something he had never seen in another Irken's eyes before. Her antennae were long, stretching behind her head and curling right below her shoulders. He couldn't tell if she were tall or short, but she looked to be of medium size, as far as he could guess. Currently her eyes were wide as she looked nervously at the screen, scratching the back of her neck in a nervous manner.

"C-Commander!" She stammered, her mouth stretched into a light, jovial grin. Dib couldn't help the smirk that spread across his lips as Tak's eye twitched. "I was just um...ah, resting my eyes. Yeah, that's it! Just resting my eyes..." The Irken trailed off into strained silence as she spotted the irritation on Tak's face. Instantly she quailed, hanging her head.

"I apologize, Commander," She murmered. Tak merely sighed, rubbing her forehead briefly before regarding the Irken on the screen.

"Just don't let it happen again, Ele." She rolled her eyes as Ele seemed to brighten at her words, antennae perking behind her neck. She saluted her Commander, eyes bright and voice jovial.

"Yes sir!"

Tak's eye twitched again, but she said nothing in return, merely turning to Dib and gesturing to the alien on the screen who was now studying him with interest.

"This is Invader Ele," She explained. "She's my...second-in-command, I suppose, though I sometimes wonder why I keep her around...More trouble than a new-born smeet..." She muttered, rolling her eyes. "She's currently in a ship-a _new_ ship, as I seem to have...lost the other one-" She looked pointedly at Dib, who flushed. "-I'm going to transport us there, and then I can explain what it is we have to do."

"Do for what?" Dib questioned, even as Tak typed a code of some sort into the computer's keypad, ordering Ele to get the transport pads ready. Tak glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, a smirk tilting her lips.

"To rescue your puny excuse for a planet, human," She drawled, "and to get Zim's memory back, of course."

**Tbc**

A/N: Good GOD, that took forever to type! -dies of exhaustion- I guess that's what I get for starting this thing at one in the morning...It's like, three thirty now... -yawns- I hope this satisfies everyone. You won't believe how awesome all you guys are, seriously! Your reviews bring a smile to my face every single time I read 'em. That's actually why I made myself sit down and write this! It's thanks to all you guys, and I commend you on your awesomeness!

You all know what to do now! Feed me reviews and I shall glomp you all to death! -glomps-


	6. Blind

--------------------------------------------

Glass Wings

**Chapter Six-Blind  
**

--------------------------------------------

_Time after time, I walk the fine line, Something keeps bringing me back, Time after time, I'm going in blind, Don't know which way I need to go -Going in Blind (P.O.D) _

Ele idly watched the screen, twirling an antennae lazily with her claw. Violet eyes swept over the glowing monitor, the alien ship of her former masters projected across the screen. Despite her lethargic appearance, inside the small Irken was shuddering, remembering all too clearly what it had been like on that ship.

She remembered being herded down long, glowing corridors and winding passages along with all the other new-born smeets. She could still remember the thoughts swirling in her head then, the breathless anticipation as they were steered toward some unknown location. They had all been wondering the same thing, yearning for the answer to their questions.

Why are we here? What is our purpose?

Their 'purpose' had been made all too clear. Ele mechanically rubbed at her upper left arm, underneath her uniform sleeve. Bumpy, raised skin met her fingers, the green skin twisted into the form of an 'R'. Shudders wracked her frame as she yanked the fingers back, settling them in her lap.

If Tak had not found her... She shuddered to think of what Red would have done.

Her commander was truly a life-saver. They had met after a long slew of circumstances, began by Ele's miraculous escape from the Massive. She remembered racing away from the ship's port, her ship pushed to his limits in her desperate need to just get away. Adrenaline had coursed through her system, knowing that if she were caught, the punishment would be death. Ele wasn't, had never been, ready to die. Not yet anyway.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, as she would come to think later, her brain had not been as clear as was needed to make such a grand escape. She had been so panicked by the possibility of capture that she had not even watched where her ship was going. As long as it was in the direction opposite the Massive, she didn't care.

That was how she came to crash into another ship, an Irken one such as her own. She grinned as she recalled the frenzy she had driven herself into, thinking that Red had already known of her escape and had sent his troops to find her, only to meet Tak instead, the mysterious female Irken that had been exciled long ago.

She was eternally grateful to the purple-eyed Irken; she owed the alien her life. And, as a fledgling of the female, she could finally extract a little bit of payback, finally go against the master that had treated her so mercilessly.

"Commander!" Ele cheered as the teleporter spun into life, the bodies of her master and the human appearing before her eyes. She grinned and spun in her chair, planting both feet firmly on the floor. "You're back!" She raised two clawed fingers in the universal sign for victory, gracing the human with a large grin. "How goes things, Dib-human?"

Dib stared at the lavender-eyed alien, a bit taken aback. He glanced at Tak only to see the Irken sigh, rubbing a tired hand down her face. He couldn't help but notice the tiny smirk that graced her lips, however.

"Um... hello?" He stuttered, unsure of what to say to the little Irken. It wasn't exactly normal for him to meet any of the race that didn't want to rip his arms off. The small alien grinned even wider, and he blinked, wondering if she was actually an Irken at all. Never had he seen one of them grin like that, other than Zim, at least, and his grins were usually of the manic kind.

"I'm Invader Ele," She announced, springing to her feet to stand before him, holding out a clawed hand. Dib blinked at the appendage, but slowly placed his own in the smaller form's, shaking it.

"I'm Dib," He replied, smiling a little. It felt strange, like the muscles in his face weren't use to it, but it was by far a welcome change.

"Ele." Tak's voice was weary, and Dib's smile fell at the sound of it. He watched as Ele seemed to notice her master's change of tone. The little Irken let go of his hand, clawed fingers brushing her forehead in salute as she faced Tak.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Bring up the blueprints of the Massive on screen," Tak ordered, and Ele nodded once, slipping back into her chair in front of the monitor. Tak motioned for Dib to follow her, indicating the other two chairs beside Ele, who was busy on the computer, fingers flying across the keys.

Dib settled into the chair with an internal sigh. His muscles ached from being cramped in his cage, and he would give just about anything for a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Tak's expression, however, indicated there was no time to speak of such trivialities. There was something important on her mind.

"I have a story to tell you, Dib-human," She began, her voice curt and business-like, "and not a lot of time to tell it in. At the moment, we are planning a complete infiltration of the Massive." She gestured to the computer screen and the rows of blueprints appearing there. "I have been studying the ship's design, trying to find a weak point. So far, I have been unsuccessful. With your help, however, I hope to change that." She paused, leaning back in her chair tiredly.

"Tak?" Dib murmured, a sudden thought overtaking his brain. It had been nagging at him ever since Tak had rescued him. "What did you mean... about Zim?"

Tak's tired eyes stared at him, as if studying him. He forced himself not to flinch under that gaze. The alien suddenly sighed, crossing one leg over the other.

"I will tell you," She muttered. Her eyes glared for a moment. "But you have to keep quiet. I will answer any questions that may arise once my tale is finished. Understood?"

Dib hastily nodded his head, gulping. "Understood."

Tak nodded. "Good." She settled more comfortably into her chair. "It was the very day of the invasion... "

_Smoke erupted in a billowing cloud around her. She covered her mouth with her gloved hands and fought not to inhale, her other hand pushing aside the rubble blocking her way. She glanced around the ruined house, purple eyes alert and cutting through the gloom as she searched for an entrance._

_Around her she could hear the dying screams of humans, the extermination of a race. Her heart clenched at the pained cries but she could do nothing for them. It was an Invader's instinct. They knew when things were hopeless, and she knew that now. The situation was one of the lose-lose equation, and nothing could be won from her attempting to save the humans._

_But there was someone she could save, if she could just get there in time._

_She pushed through crumbling cement and rock, eyes searching, scanning the dilapidated house. Finally she spotted it, a hole in the cracked floor. Wires wriggled like snakes, broken and sizzling, but she hurridly pushed them aside, the sparks of electricity causing her little discomfort._

_She ducked down into the hole, her feet landing upon the cold floor in a muted thump. She stayed still and silent, antennae perked and listening for any sounds, any indication that someone else was there. And then she heard it. The faint but undeniable sound of muffled voices, coming from the hallway to her right._

_She kept to the shadows as she ran, feet barely skimming the surface of the floor. As she drew near she could hear the voices more clearly, and her blood ran cold as she recognized them._

_"You really are so very foolish, Zim." A taunting, sneering voice. Red._

_"Uh-huh. You really are quite stupid." A giggling, childish voice. Purple._

_She could see a glow up ahead, spreading light along an inch or two of the darkened corridor. She dodged wires that hung from the ceiling and slipped down the remainder of the hallway, sticking to the wall as she poked her head out, eyes taking in the scene._

_The glow was emanating from the large computer, it's screen cracked but still intact, it's surface nothing but static. In front of it stood her former masters, and she growled at the very sight of them. Red and Purple stood side by side, the latter's clawed hands wrapped around a long string of chains. She followed the metal with her eyes, the already wide eyes widening even further as she reached the end._

_The human, Gaz, lay crouched on the floor. The chains ended in manacles that wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and Purple took delight in continuously yanking on them anytime the human tried to get up. Her hair was matted and clung to her neck and face, and her clothes were coated in dirt. She seemed uninjured, but by the dark scowl firmly fixed on her lips each time Purple pulled it was obvious the restraints were causing her pain._

_Her eyes slid from the human to the form by her side. Zim stood between two Irken guards, their claws digging into his arms and holding him tight. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. One of his eyes was closed, a thick line of purple-black blood trickling from a cut above the lid. Various scratches marred his body; she could see rising bruises through the tears in his clothes. One of his antennae was curled painfully, and she winced as she imagined the searing pain he must have been feeling because of it._

_"I still can't believe it," Red sneered, shaking his head as if admonishing a student. "Not even with the evidence right in front of my eyes. Really, Zim. A human." He glanced at Gaz, the disgust in his eyes evident. "A scrawny, revolting _human_." He spat the word as if it were a curse._

_Purple giggled beside him, grabbing Red's clawed hand with his own, the other held tight around the human's chains. From her hiding place she saw the two guards stiffen; even Zim seemed to seize up at the display. From her place on the floor amber eyes widened, Gaz's gaze drifting to the conjoined hands._

_"I don't understand you, Zim," Purple chortled, obviously unaware at the tense gazes turned his way. Either that, or not caring. "Who was it that constantly tried to conquer the Earth, tried to kill humans?" And failed, was left unsaid. But by the look in Zim's eyes she knew he had caught it. "And now you're protecting them. The years really have changed you, Zim."_

_Zim, for his part, was doing a remarkable job at staying silent, not rising to the Tallest's bait. He stared stonily at the ground, body stiff and rigid in the guard's hold._

_Red noticed this, noticed the way their prey was not cooroporating, and frowned. He glanced sideways at his co-ruler, an unspoken conversation filtering through their eyes. Purple grinned, hand leaving Red's to wrap firmly around the chains. He yanked, and startled, Gaz could do nothing to brace herself for the fall. She landed with a hard crack against the concrete, a low groan escaping her clenched lips. As she lifted her head a thin trail of blood dripped to the ground; almost in a daze she brushed her fingers through her hair, coming away with red staining the pale flesh._

_Beside her Zim suddenly sprang into life. He snarled at the taller Irkens, zipper teeth bared. "Don't tough her!" He snapped, ruby eyes blazing. He struggled vainly against the guards, eyes drawing back to Gaz and the blood that pooled on her fingers._

_Red and Purple wore twin grins, malice evident in their smiles. Red glided toward the captured alien, smirking as he drew near. "Really, Zim," He sneered, pulling the other Irken's chin up with two spidery fingers, his grip hard enough to bruise. "You should start worrying about yourself instead of that human. She'll be dead soon anyway, as will the rest of her unfortunate race."_

_"Except for the one's we'll take back with us, right, Red?" Purple called from over the other's shoulder, grin still firmly in place. Red returned the expression, nodding his head._

_"Yes, except for those," He agreed. "Actually, perhaps we can even take this human along. We'd never turn a potential slave away, would we?"_

_Zim's eyes grew hard and darkened, the color of arterial blood. "You will never control the humans," He sneered, and from her darkened corner she stiffened, wondering what Zim was thinking, challenging the Tallest so recklessly. "You may abduct them, force them to be your slaves, but they will never truly be yours. You rule by fear, and fear alone. If you knew the Armada was not at your back you would flee with your tail between your legs-!"_

_The sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed throughout the demolished computer room. Zim's head was arched to the side, ragged claw marks marring the flesh of his cheek. He was breathing heavily, red eyes wide but no less hard, his face slowly turning back to the fuming one of his former ruler._

_Red's eyes were narrowed with hate and malice, clawed hand still poised in the air. He slowly lowered it, the frown on his face morphing into a grin that sent chills down the spines of everyone present._

_"You, Zim," He murmured, his breath calming behind twisted lips, "are well on your way to losing my favor." His arms reached back, and Tak could see the Tallest's Pak slide open. Immediately she tensed, a strange feeling of doom settling over her gut. Something was about to go very, very wrong._

_"You see, Zim," Red continued, claws digging into the life-giving container. "I was just going to kill you, save myself the aggravation of dealing with your presence any longer, but... " He pulled out something small and sleek; Tak could not see what it was from her shadowed alcove. "I think this will do just fine... "_

_He yanked Zim's head by the antennae, forcing the smaller Irken to cry out in pain. Beside him Gaz struggled against her chains, but Purple held tight, forcing her to the ground with another fierce yank._

_"Release him," Red ordered, and the guards did as they were told. Red yanked the now freed Irken around, so that he was facing Zim's back, his hold on the other's antennae not giving an inch. He raised his fingers, the light glinting off whatever he had pulled from his Pak, and grinned._

_"It's your own fault, Zim," He sneered. "Now you can watch as this fragile little human is torn apart, and you can do nothing but watch. Watch her scream, watch her writhe in pain, all at your own hands."_

_A scream escaped Zim's throat as Red's fingers descended, the spidery digits jabbing into the base of his skull. Purple-black blood rushed in torrents as Red's fingers pushed deeper, Zim's howls echoing off the crumbling walls._

_Tak could only watch, horrified, as Zim tried in vain to move away, to yank the digits from his flesh, his blood and bone. He shrieked, howled, clawed at Red's hands and still the other Irken would not let him go. A grin stretched across the Tallest's face, echoed vaguely by Purple, though the other looked decidedly less joyful at the sight and overwhelming scent of his own kind's blood._

_Gaz was staring in shocked horror, limbs apparently frozen, amber eyes wide and unblinking. Tak wondered if the girl would actually lose it right there, but all the human seemed to be able to do was stare, lips moving in a wordless plea._

_Finally, after an eternity of painful howls, Red withdrew his fingers. Dark blood clung to his skin, dripped off the spidery digits. He glared in disgust at the offending liquid and wiped the stain away on Zim's torn clothes, releasing the Irken's antennae in the process. Zim fell to the ground in a heap, eyes wide and staring at nothing. Gaz seemed to jerk from her daze and blindly reached out for him, only to be restrained by the chains. Angry tears welled in her eyes; Tak could see the iron-clad restraint of the girl faltering, slipping away into nothing._

_Red sighed, kneeling by Zim's body. "Seems he's already fallen unconscious. Pity." He ran his claws beneath the other's Pak, and that feeling of wrongness seemed to intensify; Tak felt the very breath leave her lungs as Red yanked._

_Zim's Pak was ripped from his body and into Red's clawed hands._

_She clamped her hands to her mouth as the alien began to writhe; even unconscious he could feel the savage pull of his life leaving his body. Zim spasmed on the floor, eyes dull and fading fast, the human's screams unable to reach his ears._

_"Take the human and Zim," Red ordered, his voice loud enough to be heard over the din of human screams and Zim's flailing. He motioned for the guards, who moved into action at his command. "Take them to the Massive. To the holding cells."_

_Tak could only watch as Gaz was hauled to her feet by one guard while the other grabbed hold of Zim, pressing his arms to his sides as his spasms increased. They were striding toward her hiding place; she had to leave or risk detection, and she could not afford to do that. She left as silently as she had come, though it was with a head and heart weighed down with the images she had seen, and the utter lack of uselessness that she could not have done anything to stop it._

Tak sunk into her chair with a tired sigh, her narrative coming to an uneasy finish. The human had yet to say anything, but she knew the questions would come. She enjoyed the silence while she could, however, knowing it would be many long hours before she would receive such a blessing again.

Sure enough, Dib seemed to have regained his voice, though it was coated with disbelief and frightening uncertainty. "Zim... but he... how could... ?" He paused and seemed to collect his thoughts, trying again. "How can Zim still be alive, if his Pak was disconnected?" Irkens could not last ten seconds after their Paks were taken; they die without it. So then how? How could Zim still be alive?

"That," Tak stated, drawing a tired hand over her face, "must have something to do with what Red planted in Zim's skull." She flicked a few keys on the computer. An image appeared on screen. It was Red, holding something small above his head, Zim a huddled form in front of him. "I recorded all that I saw," Tak explained, touching a few more keys with her claws. The image enlarged, focusing on what Red held between his claws. "What you are seeing is an image from my eyes." The image zoomed in on the object, and Dib stared at it in confusion.

"A... disk?"

Tak nodded grimly beside him. "Yes," She answered. "It's origins are unknown. I do not know who manufacured it, nor do I now what it does. But, whatever it is, it is without a doubt the cause of Zim's memory loss, and even more so, his ability to live after being separated from his Pak."

And suddenly, as if a puzzle piece was being settled into place, Dib understood. It explained everything, why Zim was now a Tallest, why Gaz was so sure he had betrayed them...

"God... " The information was so much to take in, so much to understand. It was impossible to focus on one clear strand of thought.

"Yes," Tak sighed, all too aware of what the human must be feeling; she had gone through the same tumultuous feelings on her own.

Dib remained silent for a long while, black eyes peering into space. He thought of Zim, memoryless and with no idea of who he was. He thought of Gaz, his little sister and the only bit of family he had left, forced into slavery to the one person who could actually brake her...

"Tak." He stared at the alien, determination and a strong conviction shining in his eyes. "What can we do?"

**Tbc**

xKMx: Holy crap! I am so, so, _so_ sorry for taking so long to update this.

Zim: A _year_!! An entire year has gone by since you touched this you filthy human!

xKMx: I know! And I'm sorry! But I have an excuse!! Well, sort of... I'm afraid to say I lost my interest in the Zimmy fandom for a while, and it was hard to write when I had no inspiration. If I would have tried, it would've come out horribly, and I didn't want to pain my awesome readers with that!

Purple: I can't believe you lost interest in us...

xKMx: -huggles him- Aw, not to worry! I'm back on track with Glass Wings and I actually know where I want to go with it. I actually did write this chapter like, a month ago. Then my computer ate it before I could upload it and... yeah, those were dark times... dark times indeed.

I hope you're all not disappointed that there was no Zim/Gaz interaction in this chappy. I have to lead up to that, and this chapter was important to the plot. Must get the basics out of the way before romance can take place, right? -gets blank stare- Uh.. heh heh...

Review please, even though I don't deserve it for the horribly long amount of time I made you all wait. Chew me out for it if you'd like! -is ready for abuse- I swear this won't happen again! You guys are what make me want to write, what give me inspiration, and I would be nothing without your kind words and helpful advice. Please, continue to bestow upon me your infinite wisdom, and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Hopefully this story is starting to make sense:


	7. Overload

_Author's Notes:_ -cowers- Sorry (once again) that this took so long to get out. It's hard to focus on writing when school is sucking up the entirety of your life. But the savior known as Christmas break has finally arrived, and I will strive to get my lazy butt in gear and give my reviewers the new chapters they're waiting for! And, holy crap! We're almost at 100 reviews. -grins- Let's reach that mark readers!

--

Glass Wings

**Chapter Seven- Overload**

--

_No response on any level, red alert this vessels under siege, Total overload, systems down, they've got control, There's no way out, we are surrounded, Give in, give in and relish every minute of it- The Walk (Imogen Heap)_

Days pass quickly when you're a slave.

It'd been...a week, maybe, since she'd seen him. Maybe even more than a week. The hours blend into one another so effortlessly up here, and with no sun to rise and fall in her bedroom window Gaz has no idea just how long it's been since she has been in the presence of her 'Master.'

It leaves a bitter iron tang in her mouth when she is forced to call him that. Zim is no Master, not to her. Not ever. Before... before, he used to be... something. It's been so long, though, that she's starting to wonder if all that happened back then was even real. Maybe this is how she's always lived, some caged animal captive in an alien's ship with a master she hates and no idea how long she'll live. Maybe she's just gone crazy, trapped in this place, The Massive. A small part of her mind snickers, some piece of her old self. What a stupid name.

Something sharp prods against her back, a small voice barks in her ear. "Move, human!" She glanced behind her and saw another nameless Irken, one of many she has encountered in her endless days. This one's eyes are violet; that's how she classifies them now, by the color of their eyes. Blue, red, purple, green. Some are different shades: lavender, maroon, turquoise. It's easier than trying to learn their names; it's not as if they'll tell her that anyway.

Violet Eyes prods at her again with the laser spear in his claws, still barking commands at her that she ignores. There is nothing new about her routine these days. She wakes up in the slave's quarters with the rest of the humans, runs a wet cloth over her face and body- one of the few luxuries the Irkens provide- and then follows the others deep into the ship. Usually they are all assigned to the same task, the cleaning of some chamber or another. It is rare that one human will be pulled aside to do a separate job, something they all seem grateful for. Gaz supposes they feel safer in a group, surrounded by their own kind.

Little good that did them, she thinks, when the Invasion began. Billions of humans surrounded one another then, and look where they are now. So much for safety in numbers.

Today was the same. They had all been clustered into some deep part of the Massive, a huge chamber filled to the brim with gigantic machinery, wires and scraps of metal cluttering the massive floor. It is some kind of storage locker, as far as Gaz can tell, the Massive's junk drawer where useless things are thrown to rot.

"The Tallests want this room to shine!" Violet Eyes had barked the moment they were all inside. "Get to work, humans!" A crack of the whip he carried had accompanied his statement. Gaz had flinched at the sight of it-it reminded her far too much of Furor.

Now, hours later, she was kneeling in the far corner of the room, staring at a pile of twisted metal, broken wires and shards of machinery. In the center of the room stood a massive metal machine, something the Irkens called a 'Grinder.' The junk was fed into its mouth and broken down into manageable pieces, and then sent somewhere else in the ship to be recycled. Violet Eyes taunted the cowering humans that, should they not do their job as told, he would let them see first-hand just what the Grinder could do.

Gaz watched through slitted amber eyes as the Irken moved away from her, seemingly satisfied that she was doing her job. Her fists clenched against her knees, no expression visible on her face. She was good at hiding what she felt. That included, above all else, her anger. It festered beneath her skin, raged every time an Irken even crossed her field of vision.

It grew.

_'"One day, Gaz, you're gonna let that anger build until it just explodes."_

_Amber rolled, a slim finger turning a page in her book. "Is that so?"_

_Her brother bristled at her dismissive tone. "Yes, that's so!" he barked, flopping down onto the couch beside her. She bounced a bit at his rough landing, a scowl twisting her lips. "It's dangerous, Gaz, you know? Letting all that rage fester without having an outlet for it. One of these days-"_

_"One of these days I'm going to let it 'explode' on you, Dib!" she growled, snapping her book shut and standing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room. Don't bring your stupid head near it!"'_

It was unhealthy, to let it build. Wasn't that what Dib was always trying to tell her? She needed an outlet. Something to get it out of her system. Her eyes roved over the room, past the humans dragging bits of metal to the Grinder, to meet violet eyes.

_One of these days, she promised, you'll feel the brunt of that anger. Every single one of you._

--

Zim paced back and forth before a small group of tiny Irkens, red eyes narrowed in thought. There were four of them in all, standing nervous and anxious before their superior. A clipboard was clutched in one's hands; he rapped his claws against it, a nervous tick.

"Progress?" Zim's voice was icy, low, like a predator waiting to pounce. The Irken with the clipboard jumped and hid a squeak behind the rustling of pages, huge orange eyes scanning the lines and lines of Irken text. He felt his blood run cold at the data recorded there, his heart hammering against his chest. Zim noticed his hesitation and stopped his pacing, violent red eyes boring into his orange. "Well?" His voice held a dangerous edge to it.

"T-tallest Zim!" the Irken squeaked, his claws trembling almost hard enough to jar the board from his grip. "I-it seems the h-human, sir, is causing...p-problems, with your subordinates."

"Problems?" Zim growled. "What kinds of problems? She's just one human. How much trouble can she possibly be?"

The orange-eyed Irken twitched, his eyes panicked. "W-well, sir, she's taken to..to talking back to her handlers. Um..it says here-" his eyes roved over the page, his emerald skin paling considerably- "she's refusing to do her work, attacking any Irken that gets near her." He paused, wondering how he should phrase his next statement. "There are...rumors, sir, circulating about the slave quarters. If...if one human can resist being broken as voraciously as she has..."

"Then what's stopping the rest of them from following her example?" Zim finished, feeling disgust well up inside of him at the thought of that wretched human girl. He waved the Irkens standing in front of him away with a flick of his green wrist. "Go and bring her to me," he whispered dangerously. With a shaky salute and a squeaked "Sir!" they were gone, the chamber door sliding shut behind them.

When they were gone Zim allowed his anger to roll over him in waves. That stupid girl had yet to settle down, even after two weeks of hard labor. He had thought she'd only need a little push to be sent over the edge, a few days of backbreaking work to damage that apparently indestructible spirit of her's. He had thought it had worked. Just last week he had been told that she was breaking, wearing down bit by bit. It wouldn't be long, his subordinates had told him, until she was just as blank and dull-eyed as the rest of her race.

Apparently they had been wrong, if the reports on her behavior were anything to go by. This human...much as it made his skin crawl to admit it, had a iron-clad will. He'd never seen anything like it, not since waking and becoming a Tallest. It was maddening to think of her, those slitted amber eyes glaring defiantly at him, using his name, his actual name and not his title, as if she had known that very privilege for years. It drove his blood to boil, that such a weak and insignificant creature could dare to stand against him.

He would teach that girl a lesson.

--

Her teeth rocked together like granite as she was pushed into some chamber by two Irken guards holding sparking electrical prods in their claws. They glared at her with piercing eyes of ruby and fuchsia, and she was reminded all too clearly of a time long ago when two others with those same pairs of eyes had stared so coldly at her. Her heart leapt with cold fear but she squished it, hiding it behind a hard glare of her own. That was another time, another place, another Zim. She had to start believing that.

"The Tallest will be here in a moment, human," the red one snickered. "I suggest you make yourself comfortable." With an obnoxious tilt of his head in farewell, the red-eyed alien left, his companion trailing after him.

Gaz was left staring at a locked steel door, her hands clenching at her sides. The collar around her neck began to itch, as if it knew the one who'd put it there was near. With an angry cry Gaz tore at the offending scrap of leather, her broken fingernails snagging on the fabric. Pain seared through her fingers but she didn't care, pulling, clawing, doing anything she could think of to rip the thing from her neck. She was starting to lose control, she knew. Hell, she'd lost it the moment Zim had come back into her life.

_'You won't keep me here!'_ She raged. _'I won't break for the likes of you! I WON'T!'_

With a cry that sounded more bestial than human, Gaz fell to her knees, her fists slamming against the floor. Pain overwhelmed her for a brief moment but was easy to ignore. How she wished...how she wished she could slam her fists into an Irken, any Irken at all. They were all starting to blend together into a sea of sneering, snarling beasts.

"I see your temper hasn't improved any, human."

The sound of Zim's voice in her ears was like the scratching of fingernails on a chalkboard. It grated in her ears and made the anger clouding her head explode and expand, flowing through her veins like poison. With barely a single coherent thought in her head and her eyes holding nothing but liquid fire, she burst from her kneeling position on the floor and threw herself at the suddenly wide-eyed Irken. They collapsed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, claws and fingers and red and amber.

Her breath rushed past her lungs in a furious hiss, her chest heaving with adrenaline and fear and anger and-

_something, something else-_

With slitted eyes she raised her hands and clenched them into fists, nails biting into her palms as she prepared to strike, to beat that face that wasn't _his face_ into the ground-

_laughter, pure and bright, claws gripping her fingers tightly, a smile curling her lips as they walked, Dib walking beside them-_

A burning began to build behind her eyes, pushing at them and making them hurt. 'No, no, no, no...' Not now. Not now! She stared into the red eyes beneath her and fought, desperately, to keep her anger-

_lips pressing against her's in a nervous flutter, pulling back with wide eyes, anxious, beating hearts-_

Hate. She reached for hate, for all the malice her small body could hold, dug deep inside herself for the looming, lurching thing that was her anger-

_words of what if's, of maybe's, of this is wrong, it could never work, of that simple word that so many long to hear, of love-_

With a painful, anguished cry, Gaz pushed herself forward and sealed her lips to Zim's.

**Tbc **

_Notes: _I just know I'm gonna get shot for that one.-grins- I know this wasn't exactly the 'action' you guys wanted between Zim and Gaz, but we have to _build up_ to that.


	8. Lost

--

Glass Wings

**Chapter Eight-Lost**

--

_We've all been lost for most of this life, Everywhere we turn more hatred surrounds us, And I know that most of us just ain't right, Following the wrong steps, being led by pride- Lost (Avenged Sevenfold)_

It had been nearly a year since Dib had last seen his home planet. He had been hauled away, kicking and screaming, from the only world he had ever known as it crumbled around him. Fire had raged along the streets of his town, debris and dust billowing out from buildings as they collapsed. Whatever could be knocked down, destroyed, or run through had been wiped away in a wave of Irken invasion. His last view of the Earth as he was pulled into the Massive was that of a world being washed away.

And now...

"I-it looks..." He could barely get a word past his dry lips, eyes wide behind his cracked and dirtied glasses. "It looks so...so barren..."

Beside him, Tak and Ele respectfully kept their quiet, Ele with a melancholy expression on her face and Tak with a hard, searching gaze. They both knew all too well the destruction their kind could cause, and could do nothing to alleviate the human's state of mind. This was just something that happened, something even they had been ordered to do.

An Irken's life had only one meaning. Destroy and conquer.

Dib pressed a pale, shaking hand to the glass of Tak's ship, his eyes drinking in what had once been his world, his home. From space, it looked as if someone had dropped a shining blue marble into a sludge pile. The billowing white clouds he knew drifted along the Earth's surface were nothing but noxious looking plumes of black smoke, a hazy blanket wrapped around a mud-colored globe. It looked rotten.

"What have they done with it?" he whispered, feeling a building wetness brimming in his eyes. He hastily blinked as he turned his gaze from the horrid sight to stare at Tak and Ele, waiting for an answer.

Tak took a deep breath, purple eyes narrowing as she took a seat at the control panel, claws brushing over the keypad in front of her.

"I'm not sure," she began, eyes fixed on the screen. "As far as I know, the Earth had not been turned into anything. Not a weapons storage, nor a prison. Not a food court-"

"Or a bus stop?" Dib joked weakly, a smile trying to work its way onto his face but failing miserably. Tak stared at him strangely for a moment, before shrugging off the odd comment.

"No," she agreed, glancing at Ele who had the same look of confusion on her face. "Not one of those either. As far as I can tell, they have abandoned it. My sensors pick up no Irken ships nearby; if they were using the Earth as anything, even something as insignificant as a garbage dump, there would be _someone_ there to keep an eye on it."

Dib nodded mutely, feeling his stomach clench so painfully it was difficult to keep from crying out.

_'Abandoned.'_

The word kept repeating itself in his mind. The Earth had been abandoned. After everything...the invasion, the destruction, the entire bloody ordeal, they had not even bothered...to use it. It would have been no better, Dib knew, if they _were_ using it, but to think that after everything, the Earth was reduced to nothing more than a spinning land mine. It was...meaningless.

With teeth scraping, Dib pressed his hands to his head, fingers digging into his hair. _'They only wanted to destroy it,'_ he thought, anger boiling beneath his skin._ 'They never wanted it for gain, they just wanted it GONE.'_ Because of one selfish race, one selfish desire, the Earth that had once been so beautiful had been been razed and turned into filth.

"Why are we here?" he ground out, eyes clenched shut. He didn't want to see it, didn't want to spend one minute longer in the presence of this doppelganger, this fake and broken Earth.

Tak's fingers paused on the keypad, one eye following the human's jerky motions. As an invader, she shouldn't be able to empathize with him over this. This had been the job she had trained for, diligently and without fail, for years. If not for Zim's interference, Tak had no doubt that she would have probably been one of those Irkens sent to invade Dib's planet a year ago. And, truly...

If things had not veered so off course as they had, if she _had_ taken that test and become an invader...she probably would have enjoyed it.

She would have conquered the Earth in the name of her Tallests with no objections whatsoever, and it was that thought that truly brought her discomfort.

The Tallests were no more than an eyesore to her now. Abandonment had hardened her against their empty words, their false promises. Lost in exile on a garbage planet with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company had finally ground into her head the fact that the Tallests were not leaders. She would answer to Red and Purple no longer.

"We're going down there to find Zim's Pak," she said, her voice cutting through the silence that had accumulated between them.

Dib turned to her, surprised. At least his breakdown seemed to be over. She needed him alert and cool-headed. At a time like this, they couldn't afford to lose focus.

"Could it even still be down there?" he asked, eyes searching the Earth's surface as if he could actually spot it through the smog.

Tak nodded, standing and motioning for Ele. "According to my scanners, yes. It's signal is weak, but it's there. And I know where it is, at any rate. The Tallests never did take it with them." She could remember that clearly enough, had heard Red toss the Pak across the floor, heard it skittering to a stop among the ruins of Zim's labs.

"And how will that help us?" Dib questioned, blinking in confusion as Ele handed him a bundle of what looked to be clothes.

"Put them on," Tak ordered, already slipping her own suit over her head. "The oxygen down there is nothing short of poison to you at the moment. This suit will allow you to breathe."

Dib did as he was told, in no mood or place to argue, listening to Tak as she continued.

"As for your question," she continued, "if I can acquire Zim's Pak, I can repair it, recover the memories, the personality encoded within it. In other words, Dib-human..." She waved a claw at him.

"You can get the old Zim back?" His voice came out soft, disbelieving. It all seemed too easy.

"It's not a simple as that, human," Tak said, instantly crushing the spark of hope that had arisen in his breast. "Not only will it take time and effort to repair his Pak, there's still no guarantee that we can reattach it. We'd have to remove the chip that Red installed, and if you think for a moment that we can do _that_ without any problems..."

Dib quit listening. There was only so much bad news he could take in one day.

-

_'What...is this?'_

Zim stared at the human girl, red eyes huge, vacant, unable to do anything but look. It was as if his entire body was frozen, the girl's weight on top of his chest the only thing registering in his mind.

_'What...What is this?'_

Her lips were pressed against his hard enough to bruise, her hands on either side of his skull, pressing him to the ground. This was...madness. Lunacy. This girl's, this _human's_ strength was so pitifully obsolete that one shove of his claws would send her reeling off of his form, rid him of her disgusting presence. One push would set him free of her.

Why couldn't he force his hands to move?

_'I don't...understand this...'_

His brain felt muddled, like he was swimming through smog, unable to see, unable to _think_. Something felt so insanely off about this entire situation, something was nagging at him, tingling, tempting, at the back of his mind.

_'Get off! Get off of me! Get away!'_

He wanted this feeling gone! He wanted this girl writhing in pain at his feet for her insolence, punished for this repulsive act of defiance.

For what else could it be? In Zim's mind, there was no other answer. To do such a thing, such a stupid, foolish act, degrading him-Him! The Almighty Tallest Zim!- was no more than a weakening human's last act of desperation.

And it enraged him.

His fury seemed to give his frozen limbs the push they needed. With a angry growl he swiped at the human with his claws, feeling with satisfaction the impact of flesh against flesh. Without waiting for her to regain her bearings, he pinned her down to the chamber floor, his spider legs pinning her legs down while his own claws gripped her wrists tight above her head.

"That," he whispered venomously, his breath fanning her violet hair, "was the last mistake you will _ever_ make."

-

Purple stared at the computer screen blankly, his claws reaching into a bag of chips absentmindedly. He munched on his snack slowly, chewing without much thought, his brain focusing on nothing.

It was quiet in main chamber. The only sound issued forth from the handful of Irkens stationed at the control panels, the tapping of their claws as they typed and the occasional shifting as they moved. Purple pushed the slight noise to the back of his mind, eyes lazily trailing to the seat beside his own, which was empty.

_'Wonder where Red's gone off to,'_ he thought, lips set in a frown. He was so _bored_. _'He's probably patrolling the training rooms again.'_ Red did this often, overlooking the upbringing of the new Irken smeets, monitoring their training, observing their strengths, picking out the strong from the weak.

Making selections for the next generation of Irken soldiers, the next invaders.

Purple thought the whole experience was dull; he could never bring himself to enjoy watching the newly birthed smeets in combat, raging war against one another with claws and spider legs, each one desperate to come out on top. _'He could've_ _asked me to go, anyway,'_ he thought sourly, crunching down on a chip harder than necessary.

It seemed lately, that his co-ruler was...changing. Ever since the invasion of Earth a year ago, the red-eyed Irken had become more...

_'Vicious.'_ The word popped into his mind, and Purple could not help but nod solemnly. Yes, vicious was the word. He remembered with no small amount of discomfort the day when he'd followed Red into Zim's labs, the way Red's claws had sliced through Zim's neck like paper, the gush of purple-black blood...

Purple shivered, staring at his own claws, wondering what that must have felt like, the same blood that ran through his own body, _Irken_ blood, soaking his hands. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, the mere thought of such a thing. The fact that it hadn't seemed to bother Red at all only left him feeling even more disturbed.

_'He's definitely not the Red I knew before,'_ he thought, crumpling up the now empty bag of chips and tossing it somewhere over his shoulder. He vaguely heard it collide with one of the typing Irkens, but payed their startled cry no mind. How long had it been, he wondered, since he and Red had lounged in their chambers, since they'd cared about nothing but snacks and planet collecting, making fun of Zim whenever he called, instead of combat, slaves, and manipulating the newest 'Tallest'?

Purple came up with a blank. He couldn't remember. The main focus of their life now seemed to revolve around Zim, around his downfall. It wasn't as though Purple didn't find it amusing. It was hilarious, he admitted with a smirk, how Zim was so blissfully ignorant as to what had happened to him, how they could place people he had known and loved in front of his very eyes and he wouldn't even remember them.

But...

Purple let out a disgruntled sigh. He hated thinking this much. It was really more effort than it was worth. He was tired of thinking about Zim, about Red, about everything.

"I need a vacation," he muttered.

-

In a broken pile of dust and debris, surrounded by pulsing electrical wires, a red light began to glow. Small clinks, the muffled sound of metal hitting metal echoed faintly in the gloom. A high-pitched whine joined the din soon after.

Moments passed. The red glow blinked, faded, as though unsure. Metal scraped, clanged as it hit the floor. Tiny gray hands reached inside, searching, searching, felt the curve of something smooth, something important, important.

Blue. Blue looked at red and understood. Blue closed and hands clutched the red to a tiny metal chest. Metal lips formed a smile.

"Master."

**Tbc**

_Notes:_ Oh man...-collapses- This chapter haunts me. It took so long to get it together, and I just could not match it with a song. -weeps- But, as every chapter must have its own little theme, I had to find one. Hopefully, 'Lost' by Avenged Sevenfold, reflects what this chapter is all about. Everyone, particularly Dib, Purple, Zim, and Gaz, is lost, all of them trying to figure out just what exactly is going on in the world around them, and ultimately coming up with no answers.

I know most of you are disappointed with the almost nonexistent presence of Zim and Gaz, but as I've said, things are building up. Actually, most of the next chapter focuses entirely on them.

And hey, three guesses as to who that was at the end! I'm actually really surprised that no one has asked about him yet.

On another note, thank you all so much. We're over 100 reviews!! -throws you all virtual cookies-


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